Every End Heralds A New Beginning
by Tiami
Summary: Hero, Jowy, and Nanami are travelling after the war. The boys go out to collect some firewood... Shonen ai.


Author: Tiami Sankoro  
Game: Suikoden II  
Warnings: Yaoi, nostalgia, fluff!  
Pairings: Jowy x the Hero  
Comments: And here we have some Suiko-ficcage! Bwahahaha! If you have no idea what Suikoden is, it's an amazing video game for the Playstation. Currently, Suikoden I and II are out in America. In Japan they also have Gensousuikogaiden, or Suikoden Side Story. Which I'd love to play, but unfortunately I don't speak Japanese, nor do I own a Japanese PSX. ::sigh:: Oh well. For the sake of convience, the unnamed hero shall be refered to as "Hero", as opposed to the name I always give him in the game, Flynn. ^_^ Well then, on with the fic!  
  
  
  
Every End Heralds A New Beginning  
  
  
  
The three friends meandered into a clearing in the woods, exhasted. The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, signalling to all of them that it was about time to set up camp. They had been wandering through forests and plains since they day they had left their earlier lives behind, deciding instead to enjoy their youth, and, in the case of one, to atone for the sins commited in that hazy past.  
  
Jowy tossed his pack negligently to the ground, raised his arms above his head, and yawned. It seemed like it had been forever since they had woken up that morning. Nanami sat herself down on the grassy clearing and began to randomly pull cooking utensils out from her bag.  
  
"Jowy! Hero! I need you to go into the woods and find me some wood. *I'm* going to cook, so don't you worry about a thing! You'll get a gourmet meal tonight!" She smiled happily and began humming an upbeat tune. Hero silently groaned to himself. It was going to be another Nanami-cooking night... yay. At least he wasn't that hungry. He hoped that Jowy wasn't, either. It was bad enough to endure Nanami's cooking on a regular night, let alone when you were hungry.  
  
"C'mon, Hero," Jowy said as he pulled Hero back into the woods. "we gotta get some wood, so Nanami-chan can... cook." He said the last word with a hint of a saracastic tone.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Hero replied, not all too enthusiasticly. The two companions left Nanami behind in the clearing, still obliviously humming her happy tune.   
  
For a while the two wandered in and out of the thick trees, picking up peices of wood that they deemed fit for their nightly fire. Hero cast a sidelong glance at Jowy, to find the boy bent over to pick up a stick. If nothing else, Hero thought, that's one nice view. He admired his friend's ass for a while longer, until Jowy straighted. Hero quickly turned away, a faint blush coming to his cheeks. He tried his hardest not the think those sort of things about Jowy, especially when he was close by. His best friend since almost before he could remember, Hero had always considered their relationship a little odd. When he was but a small boy training with his adoptive father, he remembered Jowy watching from the fence that surrounded the dojo. Although Jowy was two years older than him, he had been shy, and thought that he had hidden himself as he watched Hero and Nanami train. Hero, too young to understand Jowy's reluctance to come out and play, ran over to say hello. Jowy shrank back, prepared to run, but before he could retreat, Hero cheerfully introduced himself.  
  
From that day on, the two boys became inseperable. Both were contsantly teased by the older boys of the Kyaro, Jowy was a "spoiled rich kid" and Hero the "adopted brat". They stood up to their tormentors, but more often than not only recieved brusies and broken bones for their courage. Hero fondly remembered training with Jowy from then on, promising themselves that, one day, *they* would be the ones winning the fights. They were your average little boys - silly, and headstrong. However, their years of training paid off. They were able to join the Unicorn Youth Brigade, and fight for the pride of their country. Hero remembered they day before they left the most vividly of all...  
  
The two boys had been celebrating, along with Nanami, at Genkaku's dojo. Hero and Nanami's adoptive father was already dead, but his two children had been able to provide enough money to keep his dojo running. After all, it was where they had grown up. If it was gone, there would be nowhere for the two to live. Nanami had again insisted on cooking that night - she wanted to prepare her little brother and his best friend a huge feast before their departure.  
  
"Nanami!!! I'm serious, you *really* don't have to cook for us tonight. I mean, we're joining the army! *We* should be doing the cooking, it's an important skill to have!" Hero whined to his older sister.  
  
"Don't be silly, you're certainly not going away without a good, home cooked meal, by your very own big sister! Who knows what sort of stuff they'll try to feed you in that brigade! I don't trust them at all. We have to make sure you get some good food in you before you go!" She violently turned away from her brother and stomped back to the kitchen.  
  
"Good food?" Jowy whispered to the boy beside him. "Does that mean she's not cooking, after all?" This sent Hero into a fit of laughter, until his sister poked her head out from the kicthen doorway.  
  
"What are you two talking about! I better not find out that you've been insulting me, Hero!! I'll make you pay for it!!!" She brandished a skillet meanacingly at Hero.  
  
"Eheh heh... I'm sorry, Nanami, but we weren't talking about you at all..." He replied lamely to his sister's threat. The last thing he wanted to do was go to meet the army with two black eyes. "How come she never blames you, huh, Jowy?" He hissed at the long haired boy next to him, who was trying to control his snickering.  
  
"Easy. 'Cause she has a crush on me." Jowy replied smugly. Then he threw Hero a wide grin. "C'mon, let's go outside while she's cooking. I'd rather not smell the burning food for as long as possible, anyway." Jowy grabbed Hero's hand and pulled him out the front door. The boys raced each other in a loop around to the back of the house, where they paused underneath the old tree that stood there on a cliff. Jowy flopped down onto the ground, and motioned for Hero to join him.  
  
That cliff had always been one of Hero's favorite places. When one sat on the edge and looked out over the land beyond, it felt like you could see forever. Today, he looked up at the stars that dotted the night sky. Two, in particular, were unusually bright that night...  
  
"Ne, Hero?" Jowy said softly. "Do you think it'll change, once we're in the army?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Jowy? Nothing will ever change, between us." Hero replied. "You'll always be my best friend. You were always there for me..."  
  
"Oh, Hero..." Jowy's voice faded off into the fluid sounds of the night. They sat in silence for a long moment, eyes fixated on the stars.  
  
"Just in case... something does happen... I want you to always remember us like this, okay? You, me, and Nanami... happy, with each other..." Jowy then turned quickly, his eyes burning into Hero's face. Hero returned his gaze, puzzeled at what was held in Jowy's ice-silver eyes. Jowy lifted his hand up to cup Hero's cheek. He then leaned forward, and brushed his lips slightly against Hero's. It was the briefest of touches, and it made Hero shiver, although it was pleasantly warm out that night. Jowy then rose swiftly from his position next to Hero.  
  
"Hurry up, lazy! If we don't get back soon, Nanami might decide we're trying to avoid her cooking and come after us. I thought you wanted to be in one piece when we joined the army, ne?" He laughed melodicly and began to run back towards the dojo, never pausing to look behind him.  
  
"Jowy..." Hero murmured to himself. He didn't like the scene he saw, Jowy running away and leaving him behind. "Hey! Wait up!!" He yelled after his friend. "Come back here!" Hero chased after his best friend, and they soon arivved at the dojo, sweating and out of breath, to attempt to endure Nanami's going away meal together.  
  
That had been their last day together, as their little happy family, before their lives had fallen into the confusing and convuluted maelstrom that ripped them apart. However, Hero mused, here they were, once again, together. They were no longer the innocent children they had been... Jowy was scarred by his quest for power, Nanami had been burdened with the helplessness she felt, unable to protect her brother, instead being protected by him. The dissention between Hero and Jowy had ripped her apart. Hero himself was still disturbed by what had taken place, after he and Jowy left the Unicorn Brigade, as the only two survivors. He had never expected to find himself the leader of an army, fighting a war against his best friend, against the country he grew up in.  
  
"Hey, Hero? What's up, are you okay?" Jowy's soft voice jolted Hero out of his thoughts.  
  
"Oh, sorry Jowy! I'm fine." He replied, more than a little embarassed to be caught daydreaming. "Just thinking..."  
  
"About what?" Jowy asked curiously. "Thinkin' about a girl, huh? How about that Eilie girl? She seemed to like you well enough. You miss her, eh? You wanna go back and see her? Huh? Huh?" Jowy gave a silly grin and continued to harrass Hero.  
  
"Jowy!!!" Hero whined. "Come on!! You know I don't like her like that!!! She was just a friend! Stop being an idiot!" Hero turned away from Jowy and pouted.  
  
"Come on, Hero!" Jowy retorted. "There's gotta be *somebody* out there that you like. You can tell Jowy, he promises he won't tell."  
  
"Don't talk about yourself in the third person, Jowy, you sound stupid." Hero said back, avoiding Jowy's attempts to get Hero to look at him. "What about you? Is there someone you like? You like Jillia?"  
  
"Stop trying to change the subject, Hero, but, yeah, I like Jillia. She's a great person, but..." Jowy trailed off uncertainly.  
  
"But, what, Jowy? She's pretty, polite, sweet, everything you could want in a girl! What could you not like about her?" Hero turned to look at Jowy, and a strange feeling surged up inside of him.  
  
"Well... I just don't think she's the *one*, you know? I always thought that it would be great, to marry Princess Jillia, someday... but, I never felt that spark I expected. I thought that one day, I would just wake up and be able to say to myself, 'Hey! Jillia is the person I want to see each morning when I wake up!', but... I never could." Jowy looked down at the wood he was holding in his hands, a litte embarassed to admit this.  
  
"Well, Jowy, have you ever felt that way about anyone?" Hero asked, deciptivly casual. He felt a sort of twisting within his heart, for, even if Jowy felt that way about someone, it certainly wouldn't be him. The thought of never seeing Jowy again sent *his* mind into hysterics, but why would Jowy feel the same thing?  
  
"Hero... I..." Jowy felt himself at a loss for words. As children, Jowy had been the older, stronger one... he still felt a deep-seated need to take care of this boy, who had more than proved that he was capable of doing that himself. Unable to take the strained silence that stood between them, Jowy dropped his wood on the ground and grabbed Hero's shoulders.  
  
Hero felt the pressure on his shoulders, and looked up into Jowy's smoldering eyes. They once again held that odd sliver of light Hero had seen on that night, so long ago, before the two had left to join the army. This time, Hero look the initiative, dropping his wood, closing his eyes, and leaning towards Jowy's body, letting their lips touch.  
  
Jowy reeled back slightly, surprised at the action taken by his friend... No, he mentally corrected himself. His love. He saw Hero's eyes open when Jowy didn't respond, and the desolate look in them as Hero misunderstood his actions. Jowy quickly wrapped his ams around the dark haired boy, and pressed his lips fiercely to Hero's. Hero drew in a short gasp, and then returned the kiss whole-heartedly, placing his arms around Jowy's neck.  
  
Jowy was absolutely delighted by this turn of events. He and Hero were in the middle of a wooded forest, sharing an embrace and a kiss. Jowy slowly parted his lips and swiped his tounge across Hero's lower lip, then moved his tounge between the soft lips that willingly parted for him. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, pilliaging each other's mouths. Finally, Jowy pulled away, panting.  
  
"Jowy! Ah, what's the matter? Am I... doing something wrong?" Hero's panicked eyes flited desperately across his love's face. Jowy smiled slightly up at the dark haired boy.  
  
"You did nothing wrong, Hero. But Nanami's waiting for us. You wouldn't leave your only sister to worry about us, now would you?" Hero blushed, he had almost completely forgetten about his sister. After all, the two had promised to collect wood for her... and Nanami would get worried if her brother didn't come back soon.  
  
"You're right, Jowy. We'd better get back..." Hero leaned down and scooped up his firewood. Jowy turned and did the same. As they straigtened, they both immediately looked into the other's eyes.  
  
"Hey... Jowy? Do you think we should tell Nanami about... well... this?" Hero quickly drew his eyes away from Jowy's. Jowy leaned over and placed a light kiss on Hero's cheek, causing a blush the crawl up his cheeks yet again.  
  
"Not right now, Hero... not right now. Now, come on, lets go." Jowy shifted his wood to the side and placed his arms around Hero's shoulders. Hero looked down and smilied happily to himself. Jowy was right, there would be time later. But for now, he would just enjoy Jowy's arm around his shoulder, and the feeling it left in his heart.  
  
Meanwhile, Nanami lay on her back, watching the stars.   
  
"Jowy and Hero are taking thier sweet time, aren't they? If they don't get back soon, we'll never finish dinner. And it's already dark out..." Nanami sighed dramaticly to herself. Those two, she thought, will never be normal. Jowy and little brother... they can run a country, but I've yet to see them understand anything about themselves. I'll be damned if anyone understands them, including me! She glanced towards the woods.  
  
"Maybe someday..."  
  
  
...Fin  
  
What say you? Am I a disgrace to the Suikoden fandom? Are my shonen ai impluses running a little rampant? Yes, no, maybe so?  
  
Comments/Critism will be *GREATLY APPRICIATED*!!!!! I will kneel at your feet if you write me an email. I will worship you. I *beg* for your opinion.  
  
Email: KireiTennyo@access-time.com 


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